Westlake Financial Services announces an expanded partnership with National Creditors Connection Inc. (NCCI), a field contact service provider, after a successful three-month test program showed a 10 to 15 % improvement in contact and payment rates of delinquent accounts. ??NCCI is a leader in providing field contact services to financial institutions and various other industries.  Their experience in “personal field visitation” leads to higher contact rates compared to traditional collection techniques.  According to NCCI, a “field contact” is a “specific service request where a personal visit is made to a borrower’s residence or place of employment to assist with re-establishing contact between the creditor and borrower.”

Timo Saarela, Westlake’s VP of Servicing, says the testing period began January 1, 2010 and ran through the first quarter.  During the program, 50 Test Accounts were sent to NCCI each month to measure success rates for customer contact, vehicle location and payment rates.  Concurrently, 50 Control Accounts were set up with similar delinquency rates and geographic location.  At the end of each month, the results of the two groups were compared.  The Test Accounts with NCCI had significantly higher success rates than the Control Accounts.

“The results speak for themselves,” says Mr. Saarela.  “Our partnership with NCCI is especially valuable in the sub-prime field where customers may be more reluctant to return a phone call or answer a letter.  In those cases, the face-to-face contact NCCI provides has proven to be more effective.”

Mr. Saarela goes on to say that NCCI’s user-friendly portal was a factor in the successful test program.  “Technology is a strength that NCCI has compared to various other field contact companies,” he says.  “That makes them a perfect fit for Westlake since we are also technology-oriented.  We look forward to our expanded partnership with NCCI in 2010.”

Justin Meece, NCCI Director of Sales, says, “NCCI is proud to form a partnership with Westlake. Their successful track record in the auto finance space makes them a valuable addition to our existing client base.  It has been a pleasure developing and implementing field call services into their current collection practices.  We look forward to strategizing with Westlake in the coming months on how NCCI can continue to help them achieve their objectives in 2010 and beyond.”?

About Westlake Financial Services: 
Westlake Financial Services is an internet based, privately held finance company that specializes in the acquisition and servicing of sub-prime to near-prime automotive retail installment contracts. Headquartered in Southern California, Westlake originates indirect retail installment contracts through a network of over 6,000 new and used car dealers throughout the United States. All collections and servicing are performed in-house from its central facility located in the Mid-Wilshire area of Los Angeles.

4/20/10